Hundreds pack meeting to give input on Montgomery's 20-year plan

Morris County Sheriff has partnered with police chiefs, national security experts, psychologists and school officials on a comprehensive plan to interrupt school safety threats before bullets are fired
Peggy Wright

About 500 Montgomery residents crowded into the Dunn-Oliver Acadome on a rainy Thursday night to give their opinion on the future of the city.

The event, dubbed the Community Summit, was viewed by Montgomery officials as the culmination of months of planning and meetings that will eventually lead to a 20-year plan that will guide future municipal decisions until 2040.

"You are the star of the show. You are going to let your hair down. You are going to tell it how it is," Mayor Todd Strange said.

The diverse crowd skewed a tad older, though the large number of participants was likely enough to create thousands of data points for planning NEXT, the company in charge of crafting the plan, to create a final draft.

Once completed, the comprehensive plan will give guidance on land use, housing, zoning and a variety of other municipal priorities.

“You are going to do three things with us tonight. We are going to ask what you think about the community today and its future. We are going to share with you some emerging themes and we are going to test those with you," said Jamie Greene, principal at planning NEXT. "And how do we make this a better place?”

Those who missed the event will still have a chance to participate, however, because the company will post questions online as well, Greene said.

The first hour of the event began with an introduction to the plan and a introduction to some of the significant facts gathered in the Community Factbook, a collection of data that was created as a part of the comprehensive plan.

Since its release the Montgomery Advertiser has already probed some of the topics covered in the data, such as commuters and housing insecurity. Those topics were touched upon at the beginning of the event as organizers sought to familiarize participants with the data.

In the second half of the night, residents worked with their tables of about nine people to answer questions about the future of Montgomery and how it can succeed. There were laughs and smiles among the crowd as people dug into the weighty topics.

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Hundreds gather in the Dunn-Oliver Acadome on Thursday to discuss the city's 20-year plan(Photo: Brian Edwards/Advertiser)

Robert Smith, planning director for the city, said about 700 people registered, and their official attendance count ended up around 500.

Smith called it an impressive amount of people, thanking those that came to the event. Several city council members were in attendance as well.

Kyle May, senior planner with planning NEXT, said he will be entering in the data from Thursday's event and attempting to create a database. They will then analyze the "tone, tenor, themes and topics" to create a report within the next month that summarizes residents' input.

"We want to test those plan recommendations. Our next step is not to present you with a final plan, but a draft so that you can help us prioritize ..." he said. "I really want to thank all of you that were here tonight. I want to encourage you, challenge you to get your friends neighbors online to answer the questions."